Top 10 Rotations in MLB (ESPN)

[handle]

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Josh Beckett, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly/Chris Capuano/Aaron Harang/Hyun-Jin Ryu. For Greinke and Beckett, this is the perfect situation, because they don't have the burden of being The Guy. Kershaw is the National League's best pitcher and he fully embraces all that comes with being the staff leader, from the media responsibilities to those moments when retaliation is needed. Greinke and Beckett can just worry about pitching, which is probably how they prefer it to be. The reason the Dodgers are ranked third -- and not higher -- is that it's not really clear what Don Mattingly is going to get out of Billingsley, Lilly or the starting pitcher who isn't dealt.

Linchpin guy: Beckett. Like other veteran starters who have moved from the AL to the NL, he should benefit from the shift, and Beckett is smart and savvy enough to be able to take advantage of those weakest spots at the bottom of the lineup. Beckett had a 2.93 ERA in his seven starts with the Dodgers, after being acquired from Boston, and now he gets a full-season reset button. He could be excellent. It's evident from Beckett's FanGraphs data that he relied a lot more on his cutter in his last few starts; it's a small sample size, but his strikeouts-per-9 ratio jumped from 6.64 with the Red Sox to 7.95 with the Dodgers.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/...-rotations-mlb

[DLCK]

Media jumping on the bandwagon already. Me likey.

[Ktulu]

Tigers are definitely not number 1.

[LADTXR]

Tigers are definitely not number 1.

It's between them and the Nats.

[LADTXR]

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/...-outfields-mlb

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/...0-infields-mlb

[LADTXR]

OF I'm ok with but IF is kind of a joke. Tampa bay #4 with James loney and yunel Escobar is laughable. Dodgers should be top 10 for sure.

[Dodgerbluemmm24]

I don't have insider.

[Tymathee]

should be interesting, Dodgers could possibly be #1 by the end of the year, maybe not best 1-2, or even 1-2-3 but 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 who can compete? We have #4 and #5 starters that aren't even in the rotation

[LASportsFan1996]

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/...-outfields-mlb

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/...0-infields-mlb

Either post the article or ... I don't have insider

[Krush]

No insider for me either.

[DodgersDude9]

Either post the article or ... I don't have insider

The infield article doesn't rank the Dodgers as 1 of the top 10 or so, the only thing there is this:

4. The Seattle Mariners have called the Los Angeles Dodgers repeatedly about Andre Ethier, and while the Dodgers' intention is to open the season with him as their right fielder, they have told other teams all winter that they're always willing to listen to offers. As of now, the Mariners haven't been moved to present any, sources say.


Outfield:

4. Los Angeles Dodgers
It's the outfield with the most star power, for sure: Matt Kemp in center, flanked by Carl Crawford in left field and Andre Ethier in right. Kemp was plagued by injuries and limited to 106 games, and still managed to hit .303 with 23 homers, and Ethier finished the season with 20 homers and 89 RBIs. Crawford missed almost all of last season with elbow trouble before having Tommy John surgery, and he may not be ready for the very beginning of the 2012 season. If each of the three match their best seasons from the past, this group could be the best in the majors, with power, speed and defense. But a significant factor will be how Ethier and Crawford fare against the parade of left-handers they will see, especially in the later innings of games.

Ethier had an OPS of .606 versus lefties last season, and Crawford had even worse numbers (OPS of .566) against lefties while playing for Boston in 2011. Kemp did a ton of damage against lefties last year, with a 1.105 OPS, and the Dodgers will need him to continue that trend, because he's going to see a ton of lefties while hitting among Crawford, Ethier and Adrian Gonzalez.

Something to remember: The Dodgers' payroll is going to be far beyond the luxury tax, and the team's management has a distinct win-or-bust, Steinbrenneresque style of operation right now. If Crawford or Ethier struggle against lefties and the Dodgers suffer in the standings, it's hard to imagine the front office waiting patiently for them to figure out their swings. They're more likely to pursue a right-handed-hitting outfielder who can help balance the lineup -- which might explain why they were open to retaining Shane Victorino for 2013.

[DodgersDude9]

The best lineups article went up today. Anyone want to guess where we are? Anyone? Bueller?

Not ranked, the Dodgers don't even get an honorable mention


Yet somehow the Red Sox made it to 6 and The Rockies to 7

[Dodgerbluemmm24]

Cruz will not be pleased.

[futurefailedgm]

The best lineups article went up today. Anyone want to guess where we are? Anyone? Bueller?

Not ranked, the Dodgers don't even get an honorable mention


Yet somehow the Red Sox made it to 6 and The Rockies to 7

Yeah, that is crazy. I started thinking about it though and realize we don't have any proven winners on this team... it's true. Uribe..haha. I think that is something to consider. All of these players have huge contracts and have never played for a pennant.

[LASportsFan1996]

The best lineups article went up today. Anyone want to guess where we are? Anyone? Bueller?

Not ranked, the Dodgers don't even get an honorable mention


Yet somehow the Red Sox made it to 6 and The Rockies to 7

Seriously?